YEAH NORM!

Actually listening to this, I don't understand the criticism of the kid. I loved his and RDJ's relationship.

the kids was ok. if you like the type of kid that talks and dissects your emotions like a 43 year old psychiatrist.

*MILD SPOILERS*

I would give it a solid 4/5. It had some parts I didn't like (the kid), but I really liked the rest of it. I'm glad it wasn't just another samey formula super hero movie like most were. More Tony and less suit will probably make much of the movie going public dislike the movie, though it was a great change of pace. The Mandarin part left me a bit sour at first, but overall I liked the twist because it would have been pretty weird fighting a dude with ten different powers in a movie like this. The ending battle is pretty fantastic and I'd put it pretty close to the same par as The Avengers' final battle too.

It's hard to say if I like it more than 1 or not. It's definately miles better than 2. Everytime I think back and say that 2 wasn't that bad I remember the terrible final battle and the overall just kinda meh-ness of the plot. I love 1, but it has it's problems too and seeing it as many times as I have takes away from some of the greatness the first time I saw it. So I don't know if I liked 3 better now than I did 1 at the time, but I'd safely say it's not as good as the Avengers, but leagues better than 2. I'll watch 2 still and enjoy it, but the pacing of that film as just so off and the plot just was streched too thin.

Wow. 4 out of 5?? Thought it was just a bad movie. The first half felt like an extended trailer with it’s complete lack of focus and melodrama. The plot was over crowded, and unfocused with no real villain to latch onto. And while there were definitely some awesome moments of action and genuinely funny moments, there was way too much squeezed in that felt completely irrelevant And there was no blend between the over-serious plot and the over the top ridiculousness of the humorous bits, it felt like a checkerboard of campy comedy and overly political drama.

We had the Extremis, the Mandarin, the Iron Patriot, Aldrich Killian, Tony’s post-Avengers PTSD, Tony/Pepper, and that kid. So there was A LOT going on in this movie. And it was really just too much. They could’ve picked one plot point and gone for it. I really hated what they did with the Mandarin too.

I have to come back for this, need to get a chance to see the movie first!

Edit: Can't wait for long form spoiler cast.

On the whole it was a decent summer action movie. The kid plot did seem to me to be marketing for that toy/kid market but wasn't too bad. That's where most of the Tony Snark lines were posited. I felt the movie was much like reading a comic book, with plenty of "interesting" plot choices and quasi-in universe believable schemes.

Probably for the best that I don't follow Iron Man very closely, otherwise that Mandarin thing probably would have been a big downer for me.

I liked the Lethal Weapon style dialogue that ventured closer to action comedy, it was a nice change of pace for a superhero movie. I liked the kid too, but was not too enthusiastic about the Mandarin twist.

This movie was kind of like Thor where it went a bit more character based and tried to shake up the superhero move formula and while it didn't always succeed, it was really good and a nice change of pace as opposed to constant explosions and beating up villains.

I kind of wish that they didn't resolve the Extremis-Pepper plot, that would be a great plot for Iron Man 4 and even hint at Rescue or something but it is understandable that they didn't because Iron Man 4 will probably come out in 2016, which sucks.

I'd give it 4/5 I really loved the film. I get a lot of people are hating on it being comedy and shit but I loved it.

WHERE'S THE TRIGGER!? Wait...

Mandarin twist is weird, but for a post Avengers Iron Man this is okay. Too many people in the suit...I agree with that. I can't think of any quotable lines which for me is a bad thing.

I'd go 1/5

Only for some decent action sequences, The movie as a whole was ass

Didn't anyone catch what he said while he was being operated on about perfecting Extremis and how he like's to tinker with stuff?

Whats a 'kid'?

The issues I had with the movie stem from the lack of S.H.I.E.L.D., a cameo from at least one of the non powered heroes, and him removing the arc reactor from his chest. Iron Patriot was useless . He didn't do anything! I can excuse Stark not being in the suit much. He's more than the suit. But it would have been nice if the fancy new armor they created for this film was more than a shiny metal dud.

The movie was ok 3/5 stars from me. Some things just didnt add up with the bad guy. For example, why was any of the iron-men fighting them close quarters and not ranged to rip them apart? I also thought the Extremis healing was not on par with Wolverine regeneration, it was a slower process, it also didn't raise people from the dead.

And what was the point of the kid who lived in Tennessee and didn't have any accent what so ever, aside from being really annoying?

Utterly awful.

The twist was a joke, the tone was indecisive to the point of distraction and smacked of fear for going too dark. Iron Patriot was useless, as stated. Pepper got powers. Everyone had a go in a suit while, at the same time, Downey Jr was shown to not even be IN his suits during moments of peril, thus taking away the feeling of danger and reducing his relevance in the Marvel world.

The air rescue sequence was exhilarating...and then you find out he isn't even in the suit. Cop out central.

Yeah agreed on everything. Especially the tone. I loved the air rescue scene but it was completely unnecessary to the movie.

If we're going spoiler heavy and we can talk freely without upsetting anyone:

First off; why, dear god, why would you get an absolutely perfect choice of actor to bring a ridiculous character like the Mandarin to life, only to have him purposely become a ridiculous character in the movie?

I didn't mind Tony not being in the armor or Rhodey being fairly pointless, but I agree wholeheartedly with people pointing out the air rescue scene was a cop out. I totally forgot about that since I was already pretty hard up with nerd-rage.

I also didn't get how this was all a government problem when you have several super beings who would absolutely have a say on what to do when a team member was supposedly blown to hell. And how could S.H.I.E.L.D be completely M.I.A.? I mean, really? That doesn't even kind of make sense.

Speaking of acronyms, this is how A.I.M. gets brought into the fold? I know they're kind of crappy but their whole point isn't for fueling terrorism for the sake of terrorism. They just like to make doomsday weapons, among other things, and then sell it off to the highest bidder. So you have some character be their boss, who I honestly can't remember ever being in the comics claiming to be behind everything as well?

Pepper getting extremis? Just, why? I mean, maybe he fixes it off screen but still. Seemed to be much.

Now I could forgive ALL of that--I actually could. I'd find a way because up until the Mandarin scene, I was absolutely loving everything about the movie. Then they go and have Tony remove the shrapnel pieces, which if I remember correctly, he would have done in the first place but only didn't because of the electromagnet keeping them at bay from the fact that if it wasn't there they would embed themselves even deeper, which would kill him. So, removing that and now having a clean, shrapnel free bill of health, he isn't Iron Man?! This isn't Dark Knight Rises! They said at the end that Tony Stark will return, but I want my goddamn Iron Man blasting guys in the face in the sequel to Avengers. I don't really care if we get another Iron Man film since even though I thought this was much better than the second, the second half really trips up whereas the first one stayed consistently good throughout the entirety.

So, those are my gripes. I do not like the fact that Tony would even consider not being Iron Man for good. I get it, to protect Pepper, but as the post-credits, kind of dumb scene showed, he's best buddies with a guy who can now at will turn into a green furybeast!

Also, why did Tony Stark turn into Jason Bourne and kill EVERYBODY? I'm not against it I'm just saying wow.

The point of the movie was Man vs Machine, Tony was pushing the limits with the injections but the bad guys crossed it with Extremis ...

Tony's new suit being a dud was a bit of a let down though as was blowing up the remaining suit, but guess this leaves him to build from the ground up again for Avengers 2. I also don't get why he didn't call his other suits when captured or even before that for backup, unless it was only a prototype which could only be activated by the new armor.

Iron Man 3 was a very good movie. Yes, it had some flaws to the plot and the character usage was questionable, but aside from that I really enjoyed this movie. It worked on a whole different level that that of how the first two did. I loved the fact that this movie was not about "Iron Man", but rather Tony Stark. The first two were basically about him playing the role of Iron Man, where as I feel that the 3rd was about him embodying the Iron Man persona. Tony Stark is Iron Man, whether he is in the suit or not and that is what they showed in this movie. Is this the greatest comic book movie out there.... no, but I don't think it gets anywhere near the bottom of the barrel. The twist was unexpected and a little disappointing, however it was not a movie killer in my book. I was actually a bit more disappointed that the Extremis story was not carried all the way out. Of course there's nothing saying it is over and done with and could be continued on in another movie (given that they can keep Robert Downey Jr on.... Please do so). I can understand everyone not being overly enthused about it and that it will be a mixed feelings movie, but to say it is a horrible movie is a little much for me. If I went full on critic mode at the lowest I would go with a 3/5, but that would mean me having to dissect the entire thing and nitpick every little detail about out. Without doing so I would give it a 4/5 or 5/5 given what perspective I look at it from. I think that the character development that we see for Tony Stark is the best selling point as well as the most intriguing. Yes, the suits are awesome and the tech is cool, but with out him they are all nothing. So seeing Tony Stark relying on himself more that solely on his suit was refreshing and a great direction for the movie. Also, kudos to Black for taking the reigns to one of the most popular franchises and running with it. I am sure it is not easy task following up pure awesomeness in The Avengers as well as two great individual movies. Great Job in my opinion.

I loved this movie!

Shane Black has made a pointed criticism to how these films as a commodity and by extension comics in general can not have any emotional or lasting impact because there always has to be another film. Also the violence was renforces this. On one hand it IS violent but the violence is inhernityly meaningless because of the lack of blood and sense of brutality. This movie is freaking bonkers there should be blood splatter at least. Once again because this is Diseny needs to be PG13 there can't be.

The kids was GREAT snarky Shane Black Kid FTW

I also give this movie 4/5 stars.

waiting for blu-ray...

As a movie it was a good movie but what they did to the Mandarin just left me disappointed. I was so hyped for his big screen debut thinking the rings would be some sort of Asgardian tech. I felt cheated all the information pointed towards this epic battle of Iron man vs the Mandarin. While I enjoyed the comedy, the film didn't feel focused and not nearly as dark as the trailers lead on. I can't help but think that if Favreau had stayed on we would have gotten a truer version of the Mandarin. Oh and any one who says but Pearce was really the Mandarin, just don't. I really enjoyed Pearce's performance but his motivation was paper thin. Maybe like Iron Man 2 I'll grow to like it over time.

Mostly I thought the movie was just odd. There were obvious influences from the Extremis and Five Nightmares story lines which made for some very dark subject matter. Then you had Mandarin making poop jokes and gave Tony his own Short Round. It just didn't seem to gel for me.

I'm confused by the notion that "The Best Iron Man Movie" (an assessment I agree with) isn't a solid 4/5. Well yeah it isn't as good as Avengers, but that was made by Joss Whedon. Can't expect Joss Whedon quality from everyone, it's just not fair.

I really loved it, I feel it's the best qualities of both films. Like in Iron Man 1 you see him working with less and basically being impromptu James Bond, like in Iron Man 2 the action scenes are solid throughout and the final act isn't crap.

@drgnx: He couldnt call any of the other suits for backup because the entrance to his vault was buried by rubble from the destruction of his house. A few minutes before he calls all the suits Jarvis informs Tony that the cleanup crew had cleared the vaults door.

@noj:

That's what I get for watching the midnight show <.<"

Thanks :)

http://www.comicvine.com/profile/jordanstine/blog/how-captain-america-in-avengers-gave-the-true-mean/91295/

"How Captain America in AVENGERS gave the true meaning behind everything IRON MAN 3"

Kind of spoilerish, but if you've seen the movie, read on!

----

Iron Man 3 is Tony Stark's search for the answer to Captain America's question back in The Avengers: "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away -- what are you?"

Tony had been holding onto his arc reactor chest piece because he thought it defined who he was.

In the end of IM3, with the help of the Extremis formula on Pepper, Tony could use it and also finally let his arc reactor go because he finally understood that Iron Man is the man who "built" the armor (The Mechanic) and not the armor that wears the man.

That similar meaning is also conveyed between Aldrich Killian and the real meaning behind The Mandarin. Killian was Tony, while The Mandarin was just his suit of armor.

"I am the Mandarin" was what Killian said to Tony during their final battle, which reverberated the last thing Tony said before the end. Because despite that Tony no longer has any Iron Man suits to wear, it didn't matter anymore because like Tony said in the end of the film even without the armor, "I... AM Iron Man".

P.S. On a different sidenote, Killian was the human version of The Mandarin's Fing Fang Foom complete with fire breath - how the roles have changed.

awful film... actually insulting to source material and too the audience.

Anyone able to explain how rhodey was able to fire the hand pulse blast to cut the rope when he 1) wasn't in the suit 2) the president was in the suit and had been in that exact position for hours suggesting the suit was disabled? or how apparently easy it is too hijack the suit to begin with?

Or how the kid was able to rebuild the jarvis AI system

or just the fact the kid didn't spit on tony stark for being an around dick to him, (seriously, since when was a it funny to laugh at fathers abandoning their kids)

or Killian tattoos despite having extremsis, a tattoo is scarring of the skin there for extremsis would of repaired the damage

or the complete lack of shield (Note they are not even mentioned once in the film, you would think the kidnapping of the president would at least involve shield)

or my favorite: how tony stark was able to solve the extremis problem, which a big plot point that that no one had come up with a cure only for him to do it OFF SCREEN and cure pepper potts? the only answer i could've think of was lazy writing, they needed a pepper to be Damsel in distress when that was no longer need they just took the lazy route.

@thetimestreamer: The kid didn't dissect him he did exactly what every child does he asked a helluva lot of questions and used the answers and what he could figure out to ask other questions and come to conclusions. Children aren't stupid

@mrgutts: I am from Tennessee and I can tell you that most of us dont have those thick ass accents that people seem to expect because of media. I know more people who sound like Harley than people who sound like Honey Boo Boo and her family. I get extremely irritated when movies and televison shows portray everyone from Tennessee as having thick, country, hickish accents

I wasn't that happy with the mvie. The whole mandarin is not a villain was just stupid. However much better than he had been from Afghanistan. I almost walk out (or at least consider it) since it would just be to pick a new enemy and scapegoat. Luckily the movie pick up this pretty nicely.

Most people would be sterotyped. I think there is more serious manner than accent.

Let's face it: NOBODY is going to make a superhero movie (or ANY movie for that matter) that is going to please everyone. It is never going to happen. Even "The Avengers" movie still ticked off some diehard, comic-book-reading movie goers ("Where was Ant Man and the Wasp? waaahhhhh!").

Yes, I absolutely did not like The Mandarin scenario but that didn't hurt my overall enjoyment of the movie. I didn't read the Extremis story line in the Iron Man comics so I didn't know what to expect and so I liked the story a lot. Everyone has a right to their opinions on any movie they see and those that didn't like it (yet rushed to see the first midnight showing of it instead of waiting for reviews) -- that's fine. As I said, not everyone has to like the same movies.

While I certainly don't think this was a bad movie, I do believe it wasn't great; it definitely is not the best Iron Man movie out there. As someone that hasn't read an Iron Man comic before, I was pretty disappointed. This was a real shame because I went in hoping to love it, hoping that it would be the best Iron Man movie. I'm a huge fan of Shane Black's work. He was actually a bigger selling point for me than this being the third Iron Man movie, but the script just wasn't as tight as in his other works. Knowing that the Mandarin is Iron Man's nemesis in the comics, and seeing how he ended up here, was so disappointing. And the worst thing was I could see the twist coming right away - as soon as they showed him arriving at Killian's place I realized what was going down.

Also, I felt like there was too much humor. This is coming from a guy that loves lighthearted and fun superhero fare. For example, Tony being a complete jerk to that kid after he tells him that his dad left. Look dude, I get that the clock is ticking and you want to get moving as fast as possible, but you shouldn't be an ass to the people that you're relying on for help.

I went into this movie thinking that this would be the superhero movie enjoy the most, with MOS, Thor, Wolverine, and KA2 following in that order. But this movie set a bar, for me, so low that I can see most, if not all of the other movies surpassing it.

Okay, I'm being hard on this movie, but only because I really, really wanted it to be so good. I expected more from Shane Black. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to download the Extremis story off comixology for $5. And then watch Lethal Weapon.

I only had few problems about the film but I enjoyed it a lot.

First is of course the Mandarin. Although Guy Pearce can be considered the topless, long haired Mandarinin the comics, Ben Kingsley's character is more appropriate and more bad ass if he wasnt treated as a JOKE.

Second, the post credits scene was also a joke as if the movie needs more jokes.

Almost all the other plot holes viners pointed out were explained if you watched closely instead of criticizing it first.

This movie's a no. Ya slippin' up Marvel..

I've already made my feelings on the movie known, it was ''okay'' I'd say 3/5 stars. Though some scenes had me laughing quite hard, like the thumbnail of this video when "Tony" was just chillin' in the suit at home.

So, I didn't see it but does Tony get the extremis virus or not. I hearing Pepper has it? o_O I'm confused. Tony blows up his Armors? SO he quits being Iron Man or something. I don't get it.

Interesting assessment. You make good points but I think if that was the underlying meaning they were going for then I think it would've made more sense for the post credit scene to have been Captain America rather then Hulk. It would've been less funny, but Tony confiding in the man that stood up to him and made him question himself would've tied things up better.

All in all I enjoyed the film. I liked the action sequences, and I liked AIM. Didn't care for the kid or the Mandarin. It's better then Iron Man 2, but not as good as Iron Man 1. I also don't think it's as a good as Captain America or Thor, both of which are very underrated.

F***ing brilliant. The parts that you thought were trolling you.. were trolling you. It was done soberly and tastefully. It was all in fanboy fun so ease your nerd rage.

Kept me on my toes and kept me laughing. Very clear and sharp storytelling. Thrilling action. I will go 5/5.

I liked this better than Avengers. I was more giddy during Avengers just because it was the final realization of live action comic action. Any tone deaf moments were overshadowed by the spectacle of finally seeing a convincing depiction. During IM3 I was less sensitive to the spectacle and more engrossed in the stuff that has always carried good movies: engaging exchanges between charismatic characters. I loved the "Nolanesque" departure from the source material.

I absolutely loved it and it definitely made up for the horrible 2nd film. The Mandarin twist was shocking but Ben Kingsley is so great to watch, I forgave it. I did find it funny how Pepper turned out to be quite a bit more useful than Rhodes. Im happy Pepper's extremis issues were solved but to be honest, Tony should've just left her as she was. At least he wouldn't have to worry about her as much seeing as she seemed to have adapted to the changes just fine.

This was definitely on par with the first Iron Man in my book and I even enjoyed it more than the (Ant-Man and Wasp-less) Avengers.

I thought it was a pretty good movie. It had some nice humorous parts, especially considering I do not laugh easily. I actually liked the parts with the kid. All the suits at the end were awesome. More could have been done with it, but that could asking for too much. It was a pretty long movie as is. I did like how Tony proved his worth by himself, without his suit, as that was one of the main themes of the movie, but I felt like there wasn't enough action with him in the suit. It did not quench my thirst for suit action. That leads to my absolute biggest and worst pet peeve of the film: the people affected with Extremis make the suits look like paper! I get they are superpowered, but they neutralize a suit just by touching it since they are so hot. Lameee. Aldrich was the big bad but he was slicing right through every one of Tony's armors with ease. The thing with Pepper at the end was completely predictable and her showing out was kind of corny and lame.

All in all, RDJ does a great job once again. With all its flaws, I still recommend it.

Great movie.

@chibi_iroh: yes they are. that kind of kid is as rare as lohan not doing coke. kids dont act and talk like that.

@thetimestreamer: I beg to differ. Its not like Harley was doing thermonuclear physics he was just being an inquisitive and witty child which children often are.

@thetimestreamer: I beg to differ. Its not like Harley was doing thermonuclear physics he was just being an inquisitive and witty child which children often are.

@chibi_iroh: only in the movies. sorry. but the kids i've seen at that age have the attention span of a rock and are well beyond the age of asking 30 question a minute.

Norm, woo!

I can already tell it's a movie I need to see again. It had plenty of cool moments but I was kind of wrapping my head around what the movie actually was as it went on. Such a polar opposite from the grandness of The Avengers (still my favorite Iron Man movie).

Seemed to me like more of a Dark Knight Rises character piece, which also featured more of the hero outside the costume.

It was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it may take another viewing or two before I decide if I loved it.